LEXINGTON - Kentucky's education commissioner has scaled back proposed new high school graduation requirements after some districts worried they wouldn't have the resources needed for their students to graduate.

Wayne Lewis announced the changes Monday, two days before the state Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the new requirements after a public comment period.

At a public hearing last week, some superintendents of rural school districts worried they could not offer all of the options to their students, including apprenticeship programs and 500 hours of "exceptional work experience."

"The concern from the field was that the step forward we were proposing was too big a step," Lewis said. "It is still a step forward, but it is a smaller step."

The new requirements are designed to better prepare students for either a career or to pursue a degree at a college or university. Kentucky has one of the highest high school graduation rates in the country, with about 90 percent of its students earning diplomas each year. But state education officials say only about 60 percent of those students meet standards showing they are ready for a college or a career.

The first proposal, initially approved in October, would have required students to meet standards for "transition readiness" to graduate. The new proposal offers students a choice among seven "graduation qualifiers" that are not as rigorous as the first proposal.

For example, the first proposal would have accepted a benchmark score in reading and math on a college admission exam like the ACT. The new proposal loosens that standard, only requiring students meet the benchmark in one area, not both. And if students could not meet the standard in a college admission exam, the state would accept a benchmark score in a less rigorous college placement exam.

Another option under the first proposal was for students to gain certification in a certain industry, as approved by the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board. But the new proposal would accept an easier standard: students who complete at least four courses within a "career pathway" as approved by the Kentucky Department of Education.

"Do I believe that by students meeting one of these qualifiers that they are ready for postsecondary education or ready to go into the workforce and get a job where they can take care of themselves? Maybe, maybe not," Lewis said. "But I do believe I am confident that with this proposal the expectation for minimum high school graduation in Kentucky is a more rigorous expectation than what we currently have."

The changes come after a public hearing last week where 16 of the 17 people who spoke opposed the plan, including education advocacy groups, school superintendents, teachers and a high school student. Lewis said the changes show the department values the feedback.

The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, an education advocacy group, said in a statement it is glad Lewis is "being receptive to feedback" and looked forward to reviewing the proposal in more detail. But they again renewed their call for the state Board of Education to delay voting on the new requirements.

"There is broad agreement that too many kids are not getting all they need out of high school," the Prichard Committee said in a statement posted to the organization's Twitter account. "But the call at last week's hearing was near universal for the Kentucky Board of Education to table the proposal and have authentic engagement with stakeholders to craft solutions."

Other aspects of the proposal did not change. Students will have to show a "basic competency" in reading and math to graduate. They can do this by meeting the minimum required scores in reading and math in tests taken in the eighth and 10th grades. Most education advocacy groups have opposed this, arguing it places too much emphasis on a test. But Lewis noted students can take the test twice a year. Plus, students can bypass the test by presenting a portfolio of work demonstrating they have met the standard, among other options.

Note: A shorter version of this story by AP has been replaced by a longer version due to potential for reader misinterpretation. The proposed changes were for higher standards and still are, but have been scaled back slightly after getting feedback.

Shawn T; I agree with most of what you said except for the part about the liberals and the State School Board. Please keep in mind that it was Reagan that started the "Deliberate Dumbing Down of America". Read the book by that name by Charlotte Iserbyt. I am sure the liberals and probably other conservatives have helped. This state is not alone in some of the stupid things they do thinking they are educating kids. I have two offspring who teach in different states and from what they say it isn't just Kentucky. I wonder is it the Federal Government since it is in at least two other states. Sometime a few years ago parents with retarded children apparently decided their kids should be in our regular classrooms and somebody was dumb enough to get laws passed. Now the teachers are dealing with kids who run around the room, scream, turn over furniture, etc. and the teacher can do nothing. I think the reason they don't teach cursive writing is because it helps develop the coordination and the brain. I decided a few years ago that the goal is to keep the teachers from teaching and the students from as much learning as possible while making the parents think that education is working.

The problem here is our liberal State Board of Education. You have people on this board that don't have a clue. People are on it for the big paycheck and politics rather than qualification. They have hamstrung the teachers with many of the rules that they have made. The teachers are cut to the bone with the materials and tools that they need to do their jobs. We don't teach handwriting and composition skills. These are core skills. Students rely on their cell phones and I-Pads instead of thinking for themselves. Google is the gospel for everything. Students communicate like they text. Highly intelligent students can't do basic math in their heads, some can't even tell time on analog clocks. And we have garbage like Singapore Math on the curriculum. Money is not an object when it comes to sports yet we budget and scrimp when it comes to vocational and technical supplies and resources. The liberals have taken discipline and morals out of the classroom. How can a person teach when they don't have control of the environment? Yet a coach can kick a ballplayer in the hind end or give them a good shaking or cussing and no one thinks anything about it. Our priorities are all messed up and it starts at the top.

I call bull on that joe s. Unless you mean privileged by having good work ethics, involved parents and high standards in school, especially the basics. This baby boomer can add/subtract and balance a checkbook AND is still working a 40 hour week.

Why teach them the periodic table? I have only used that in trivia games. Teach them a bank book ledger and teach them how to budget. Teach them the things they will use every day in society, putting salt on a frog leg is just cruel and useless. If someone wants advanced classes and qualifies, then teach them science and what not.

Common core. Came back to bite everyone didn't it? Thanks Liberals. Dumbing down of America at it finest. You can't blame the teachers. They are not more now than babysitters. NO family at home to help with education. The poor kids today are mostly on their own.

I’m afraid you don’t understand that the baby boomers were the privileged generation, thanks to their parents’ generosity, missy. Lots of new schools were built then. Lots of new college buildings were added, and tuition was much cheaper — even when adjusting for inflation. Well-paying jobs were easier to find. Employers were less likely to lay off workers. The kids today have it much tougher.

If they can't pass the test will they do something like one of the Florida Middle Schools is doing, re-take the test if the grade is below 85%, and the teachers are to be sure no one gets a lower test grade. It is no longer about teaching, it seems to be about rankings.

How in the world did we baby boomers ever make it in the world? How did things get invented, wars be won, day to day living occur?
We went to school, some on to college, some to trade school, some to the job world. We did what we had to do and nobody had to provide us extra anything. If we graduated high school, it was because we passed all our classes. We went straight out into the world. We have survived and so has the world. Sure, things are more technical now, but the basics remain the same. Teach them right and they should be able to function as we did. No wonder the world is so topsy turvy and anger is rampant. Teach them to think!

LOOK OUT! The kids are getting too smart in Kentucky. We have to dumb them down so they don't see what the rich folks are doing in Frankfort to compete with lower Mississippi wages. Down to the bottom we "race"!

The blame on “rural school districts” is a curious one. Are these small districts or those only in poor areas? Should we be opening the door to eliminating any public high school under 400 or 500 students? What should we do about poor communities with disdain towards education, or where the district is the only major source of employment?

A shorter version of this story by AP has been replaced by a longer AP version due to potential for reader misinterpretation. The proposed changes were for higher standards and still are, but have been scaled back slightly after getting feedback.

Teach Tech, take a hard lesson from what china is doing in tech today and what they spend in research, and how they teach and what they teach, that research cannot be done unless they prepare their people to learn as they grow from a child to teenage to young adults.

Mark this date down, because five years from now Kentucky will be even lower on all of the metrics of a successful state! I agree with the previous comment, teach the basics and prepare the students for real life. They should also teach them to create a budget, live on it, and balance a checkbook. It's amazing how many of them can solve a complex algebraic problem but can't keep the bank account in the black.

Lowering it down to the lowest common denominator. So sad to see this as they are not doing the kids any favors. The school system needs to dump almost all their programs and get back to teaching reading, writing and arithmetic.. You can be successful in a lot of jobs with those 3 skills. But no, lets give everyone a gold star but handicap them for life.

So instead of helping them reach for the stars, you make it easier to step back than to step up. I don't get it, where did it ever say it was going to be easy...Snowflakes? Let's take your pay back and see how hard you work to get them ready for the snow?